Bagged-seed treating device



Dec. 1, 1959 R. J. PETERSON 2,914,820

BAGGED-SEED TREATING DEVICE Filed Feb. 18. 1957 a G 7 I /4 if J /2 30 XI I l I 3/ 5 I i Y l I I I I I I -=:3Z I r l I F I I l 1 i 33 l l I I lINVENTOR. /@05R7J P575250 v BY United States Patent i l t 2,914,820 iBAGGED-SEED TREATING DEVICE i l Robert J. Petersoni'warren, Minn. V f fApplication February s, 1957, Serial No. 640,974 11 Claims. (Cl.21---109) This invention relates tomaterial treating apparatus, and moreparticularly to a device for applying treating dust or powder to seedsand the like;

Anobject of myinvention is to provide a newand 7 improved seed treatingdevice pfsirnplej and inexpensive construction and operation. p p

Anotlier object of my invention is the provision in a seed'trea'tingdevice, of improvedapparatus for thoroughly dispersing the treatingpowder in flowing air to facilifate uniform application of the treatingpowder to the seed. 1

Still another objectof my invention is to provide a novel device foraccurately measuring and thorough mixing 'treating powder with air tobeinjected into a supply of seeds or the like for applying the treatingpowder thereto. v a r a A further object of my invention is theprovision of an improved device for injecting treating powder and thelike into a bag'of seeds'and which is constructed to provide an accurateindication to the operator of the amount of treating powder beingapplied to the seeds.

still furtherjobject of my invention is to provide mew device forinjecting'trea ting powder suspended in airinto a, bag of seeds whichmixes "predetermined quantities of the powder'with air at a rate slowenough so that the proper amount of air-powder mixture may beprogressively applied to seeds atdifferent depths within the bag. 6 Astill 'further object of my invention is to provide a probe-typeinjection device for applying an air-powder mixture to seeds containedwithin a bag and which is constructed in such a manner as to maintainthe powder in an even distributionin'suspension in the air and to injectthemixture with sufiicient force so as to propel at, leastsome'ofthepowder particles to the outside por- *Anotli'r 'obje'ct of myinvention is to provide as novel device foflaccurately measuring'andthoroughly mixing treatingpowder' with'air to be "injected into a supplyof seeds or the like for the purpose of applying the treatingpowder'theret'o. p

-Another(rbjecitis to providea novel and improved device* for' treatingseeds withina bag a powder fungicide and which: is constructed to permitthe charge o f p o wder which is introduced thereinto to be varied interld amounts-and whichwillpreclude the escape of air,

from the chamber into'the fungicide supply chaml: 'r o'bject'is toprovidean improved device for treating" seedsv'vithin a'b'ag with apowder fungicide which willintrbduce the fungicide into the air :fiowslowly so asito-givefth'e operator'of the device suflicient time toslide delivering mechanism-thereof back and fourth r. tween the bail andthe bottom of the glass bowl and ce v depthwise of the bag in order toinsure goodidistribution which is providedlwith a cover membergindicatedgen-l erally as C which'pivotsabout a pin 5 between open and closedpositions for the purpose of introducing .-;a-

of the fungicideu A a Another object is to provide a device o t e-Q 5scribed constructed -.to permit the device to be utilized equallysuccessfully whether their side. 1 i

These and other-objects and advantages of my invention will more fullyappear from the following descrip-, tion, made in connection with theaccompanying drawe ings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which: i lFig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through my seed treating device withthe air line and the probe and bag of seeds shown in elevation; r a

r Fig; 2 is a plan view tof the device; and

enlarged scaleof the probe, v v I One embodiment of my invention mayinclude as shown in Figs, 1-3 atsupply chamber indicated generally as- Ssupply of fungicide powder into the supply chamber when needed. It alsoincludes a mixing chamber indicated generally as M and a probe P whichis adapted to be inserted in the open end or a bag of seeds indicatedgenerally as'B. i

The device asishown'hasl an elongated material supply opening 6 which'is constructed much as a cylinder or; chute having walls 7f. shown,-thecylinder Z coni meets the interior ofthe supply vchamber Swiththe-interior of the mixing chaniberjML At the top of the mixingchamber M there, is an'air inlet opening 8 which communicates'via a port9fwith a compressed-air line 10 Interposed within the air line 10 is avalve member V, which has a button 11 for opening thevalve when the Ibutton is depressed, the button being resilientlyrurged upwardly towardclosed position. d

Also disposed at the top ofthe mixing chamber M is an outlet opening 12which is conected'by a port 13 with a head 14v which is'carried bythecylinder7 at its opposite side relative to its connection with the airline 10; The head 14 has two'internally threaded openings -15 and 16,one of which is provided withat hread'ed plug 17 and into the other ofwhich is threaded theu'pper end of the probe P.' The probe 1? canbethreadedfinto either of the openings 15 or 16 as desired and for"apurpose to be hereinafter described. r I

It will be noted that the ports 9 and 13 are directed somewhatdownwardly "and at anlangle to each other and'that they are arranged soas to avoid a linear air flow; The airinlet and the outlet opening 12arear-- ranged so as to provide a'swirling air flow through the,

mixing chamber M with considerable turbulence imparted 19 by means of abail 20 and longitudinally expandable threaded tightening, mechanismtz lwhich extends becan be swung laterally to permit, the glass bowl to tobe removed if so desired, upon loosening 0f,the mechanism 21."

Mounted upon the supply chamber S for longitudinal reciprocatingmovement and extending therethrough into pair of piston forming memberswhich operate some- Patented Deer 1, 1959 the bags lieupright or on Fig.3 is a fragmentary vvertical sectional view on an 3 what as a pistonwithin the material opening 6. These include a disc-like -member 25which is secured by a cotter key 26 to the piston rod 22 by passingthrough one of a number of longitudinally spaced opening 27 providedfor" thatpui'pose in'the piston rod" 22, The diameter of the disc 25' isequal to the interior diameter ofth e cylinder 7. At the eirtreme'inneror lower end of the piston rod 22, there is a frusto-conically shapedenIarg'ement'ZS which carries a resiliently yieldable sealing ring 29which permits the lower end of the piston rod 22 to be movedverticallywithin'the cylinder 7 without-permitting the escape of air at any timefrom the mixing chamber'M upwardly into the supply chamber S.

'-1 he'p"robe P is comprised ofa pair ofconcentrically disposed tribes30 "and 3'1. These two tubes are connected at the top with only theinner tube 31 in air flow communicating" relationship with the dischargeopening 12 's'oth'attheair powdef mixture ustflow downwardly through theinner tube 31 until-i permitted to escape into the outer tube'30 throughenlarged apertures such as'sz." The lowerend of-the oiite'r 115,53 isclosed by a conically shaped end portionfidf Only lower endpoition'ofthe outer'tubelisprovided witha few small discharge apertures34. The reasons for this arrangement are that by compelling theair-powder miirture to be "carried to the bottom at the probe and thenforced upwardly and outwardly through elevated openings, the tendency 0ftheprobe to clog is eliminatedf The reason for having only a'fewsmallopenings 34 at the lower end portion of the probe is 'to insure thatsufficient pressure will be available tocause the air-powder mixture toreach the more exterior portions of the bag. I have found thatifopening's are provided throughout the length of the outer tube 30,therewill be insutficient pressure to reach thefmore exterior portionsof the bag. V

-Inuse the supply chamber-S is filled with the fungicide powder to beused and the probe P is then inserted into the open end of the bag B.'The knob 23 is then pushed downwardly and as it does so, the disc 25 andthe enlarged portion 28 along with the ring 29 form a material measur ngand carrying compartment in cooperation with the chute 7. 'In thismanner an accurate amount of the powder is measured out and carrieddownwardly until the enlarged portion 28. moves downwardly beyondthechute 7; and'into the mixing chamber M whereupon the fungic de powdermeasured out will drop downwardly around thelenlarged portion 28 intothe bowl 18. The knob 23 is then released whereupon the'piston rodreturns to the positionshownfin Fig. 1, at: which position the sealingrin precludes any passage: of air upwardlyl into the EPI1X hfi bfir S.Theprobe'P fhaving.previously been insertedinto'the lower portions ofthebagB as shown in F g. l the device is then readyffordistributionofthe fungicide powder, throughout 't'h'ebag. To accomplish this, thebutton 11 is pressed inwardlyto open" the valve V'and the compressed airrisesi intothe miring chamber previously described, t'he air flow isnon-linear, and in fact has a swir'ling.motion;which inducesconsiderable turbulence so that the fungicide" powderl is graduallypicked up thereby from; the upper" surface thereof aha carried therewithinto the probeIP. Thus, the charge of fungicide powder is evenlydistributed or. introducedinto the air. flow oven ajperio'd of, timerather than in a clog or batch andbecause of this, it is'possible to'mak 'a'mtire eve distribution of the fungicide. pawd tt rjbugnd tjtsseeds contained in the bagB.

As the "air continues 'to rush through the probe and the fungicidepowder outwardly therewith through the en es 34,, th probe. P. isslowly. withdrawn. from. sack B. As p ointedout preyidusly' 'thepressifi? Will be; pflici ntto carry the ROWdcr to. 'thefeiiterionportions d;as soon asthe pow er becomes visually f. he be uponYthe bag, the probeisv withdrawn fulrther to s more elevated position, the entir contentsof An additional advantage of my seed treating device is the fact thatthe mixing chamber is transparent and is used in combination with ametering device which enables the operator to be apprised of exactly howmuch fungicide powder is being applied to the seeds within the bag. Thisis a distinct advantage for it eliminates the guess work and enables theuser to be more certain that an even distribution is being accomplished.

Another advantage of my device is that the amount or charge of fungicidepowder will be accurately metered or measured out as desired and thiswill be supplied to the air flow slowly and gradually. Moreover, it isimpossible for any ofthe air flow to escape upwardly into the supplychamber S for the piston formed by the disc 25 and the enlarged portion28 with its sealing ring 29 serves as an air lock at all times.

Another feature of my invention is that the metered moun ma be re di yari d y lidably adjus n the p at the dis 25 2 h i n'r d. 2.2.- Thi ca beaccomplished by removing the cotter-key 26 from the aperture 27 as shownin Fig. 1 and reinserting it in one of t e her a r e 7- It should benoted that it is possible with my seed treating device to accomplish theadvantages outlined even though the bags may lie on their side insteadof upright as shown in Fig. 1. .When the bags lie on their side, theplug 17 is removed and the, probe P is subsstit-uted therefor, the plug17 being substituted for the probe in the opening 16. The device isequally advantageous when this has been done, for use with bags lying ontheir side for the'transparent mixing chamber M will still be at a lowerelevationthan the supply cham-. ber S and the functions of the devicewill be the same as herein described before. i v,

It should also be noted that by placing the charge of powder inthe'bottom of a bowl 18, and by introducing theair supply at the top.and withdrawing the same from the top of the mixing chamber, the powder.is introduced uniformly and slowly into the air flow, thus giving theoperator time to slide the probe back and: forth depthwise in the bag.This insures a good distribution of fungicide throughout the bag and atallv depths.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes, may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of my, invention which consists of the mattershown and described herein and set forth in. the; appended claims.

.What is claimed is: v

1. A device for treatingv seeds andthe like, comprising a. bodystructure defining a mixing. chamber, said body structure. also having amaterial supply. opening communicating with the mixing chamber and withthe source of treating material, material conveying n eans in saidmaterial supply, opening for introducing a treating material intothefchamber, said chamber having a compressed. air inlet opening and anoutletopening arranged to produce swirling. and'turbulence of. airflowing therethrough, whereby the powder is intimately admixed withanddispersed throughout the turbulent air, and discharge mechanismconnected with the' body structure in flowcommunicationwiththe outletopening for injecting the. air-powder mixture into asupply of seeds.

2. A device for treating seeds and the like, comprising body; r efini smixi g; h mber. a d. od structure alsohaving a. materiahsupply. openingcomrnuniat n i he mi in qhem sr and. with a ou e o treating ma a ns. lty mov n t e t n mat riel, hrw hfi i mater alv upp p nin nd nto. hambe ilP e ntin s p f: i h s said; material supply opening, said chamber havingan le enin i p n n. w h a onrceof qm r s d ai d 1 .9. ha n am rt re ut eo n n -1. said inletand outlet openings being arranged to produce.non-linearflow of through the: chamber whereby-to, Prams? isir ssa stisps si a cribs izgwder s h and discharge mechanism connected with thebody structure in flow communication with the outlet opening forinjecting the air-powder mixture into a supply of seeds.

3. p A device for treating seeds and the like, comprising a bodystructure-defining a mixing chamber having a compressed air inletopening and an outlet opening, said body structure having a materialsupply opening communicating with the mixing chamber and with'a sourceof treating material, movable material supply means including an airlock in the material supply opening for introducing the treating powderinto the chamber, and discharge mechanism connected with the bodystructure in flow communication with the outlet opening for injectingthe air-powder mixture into a supply of seeds.

4. A device for treating seeds and the like, comprising a body structuredefining a mixing chamber having a compressed air inlet opening and anoutlet opening, said body structure also having a material supplyopening communicating with the mixing chamber and with a source oftreating material, a material-delivering member movably mounted inair-flow obstructing relation in said supply opening, said deliveringmember defining a material-measuring and carrying compartment arrangedfor interchangeable communication with the mixing chamber and with saidsource whereby to facilitate introduction of treating material into thechamber and to prevent air flow through the supply opening, means formoving the deliveringmember, and discharge mechanism connected withcompressed air inlet opening and an outlet opening and arranged toproduce swirling and turbulence of the air flowing between the inlet andoutlet openings, said body terchangeably and slidably engaging the bodystructure in substantially air-sealing relation, said delivering memberhaving a transversely opening material-measuring and carryingcompartment between the ends thereof for movement into successivecommunication with the mixing chamber and with said source, means forreciprocating said delivering member, and discharge mechanism connectedwith the body structure in flow communication with the outlet openingfor injecting the air-powder mixture 7 into a supply of seeds.

6. The invention set forth in claim 5 wherein one of said piston-formingends of the delivering member is projectible into the mixing chamber andretractable into the supply opening and is constructed of resilientlyyieldable material for tightly engaging the body structure in airsealingrelation.

7. A device for treating seeds and the like, comprising a body structureincluding a transparent wall and defining a mixing chamber, the contentsof which are visually perceptible, said body structure also having amaterial supply opening communicating with the mixing chamber and with asource of treating material, means in said material supply opening forintroducing a treating material into the chamber, said chamber having acompressed air inlet opening and an outlet opening arranged to produceswirling and turbulence of air flowing therethrough whereby the powderis intimately admixed with and dispersed through the turbulent air,valve means connected with the air inlet opening for regulating flow ofcompressed air into the chamber, and elongate discharge mechanismprojectible into a supply of seeds and connected with the outlet openingfor applying the air-powder mixture to the seeds, whereby a quantity ofpowder being injected into the seed supply canbe readily determined byvisual inspection of the mixing chamber.

8. A d'evice for treating seeds and the like, comprising a bodystructure defining a mixing chamber, said body structure'also having amaterial supply opening communicating with the mixing chamber and with asource of treating materialmeans in said material supply open-. ing foralternately introducing a treating material into'the chamberandpreventing escape of air from the chamber, said chamberhavingacompressed air inlet opening and an outlet openingbothfpositioned at the top of the cham-' her and arranged to produceswirling and turbulence of the air in the chamber, and elongatedischarge mechanism projectible into and movable in a supply of seedsand connected with the outlet opening to carry the airpowder mixture tothe seed supply, whereby to facilitate intimate admixing and dischargingof the air and powder at a rate to permit manual movement of thedischarge mechanism in the seed supply for distributing the powder overseeds in different areas.

9. A device for treating seeds and the like comprising a body structuredefining a mixing chamber having a compressed air inlet opening and anoutlet opening arranged to produce swirling and turbulence of the airflowing therethrough, said body structure also having an elongatematerial-supply opening communicating at one end with the mixing chamberand at the other end with a source of treating material, a reciprocatingmaterial-delivering member mounted in said supply opening and includinga pair of interconnected piston elements interchangeably and slidablyengaging the peripheral wall of said supply opening in substantiallyair-sealing relation, said piston elements defining a material measuringand carrying compartment therebetween and being adjustable relative toeach other for varying the size of said compartment whereby to carrypredetermined quantities of treating material into the mixing chamber,means for reciprocating said delivering member, and discharge mechanismconnected with the body structure in flow communication with the outletopening for injecting the air-powder mixture into a supply of seeds.

10. A device for treating seeds and the like with treating materialpowder, comprising a body structure including a compressed air inlet andan air-powder mixture outlet and also including a chamber communicatingwith said inlet and outlet and adapted to contain a quantity of treatingmaterial, said chamber being arranged with respect to the inlet andoutlet to cause air flowing therethrough to pick up and carry indispersed condition the material in the chamber, an injection probe forapplying the mixture of treating material and air into a supply of seedscontained within a bag and including a pair of concentric inner andouter tubes having adjacent lower ends and also having upper endsconnected to the body structure, the inner tube being connected in flowcommunication with said outlet and having enlarged aperture meansadjacent its lower end only providing flow communication between theinner and outer tubes, said outer tube having only a fewflow-restricting apertures around the periphery thereof and disposedadjacent the lower end only thereof, whereby to maintain the treatingmaterial in a suspended state in the moving compressed air and to movethe material-air mixture with substantial force outwardly into thesupply of seeds so as to penetrate to the wall of the bag.

11. A device for treating seeds and the like comprising a body structuredefining a mixing chamber having a compressed air inlet opening and apair of outlet openings, said body structure also having a materialsupply opening communicating with the mixing chamber and with a sourceof treating material, said outlet openings extending substantiallynormally to each other, a material delivering member movably mounted inair flow obstructing relation in said supply opening, said deliveringmember defining a material measuring and carrying com- 2,914,820 7partment arranged for interchangeable communication with the mixingchamber and with said source whereby to facilitate introduction oftreating material into the cham- References Citedzin the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS her and to prevent air now through thesupplying opening, 1105936 saittevlgf -i-rf-fi -r-" means for movingsaid delivering member, discharge 5 2083153 Insh June mechanismconnected with the body structure in fiow- 2,6063%. Berkner "icommunication with one of said outlet openings for injecting ;theair-powder mixture into a bag of seeds, and a FOREIGN PATENTS means forremovably plugging the other of said outlet 17,316 Australia ofopenings, said last mentioned means and said discharge 10: 471,958 ItalyJune 3, mechanism being interchangeable insai'd' outlet openings.270;l69

Switzerland Nov. 1,

